The Beast Within
by The Blade of Osh-Tekk
Summary: After The Following DLC following(ironically) the vial option. There was a cure. Or at the very least, one of the closest things to it. And it lay within the pockets of Kyle Crane. One major problem lay in his way. He had become one of the beasts he longed to be rid of. There was only the matter of fighting the savagery inside.
1. Chapter 1 - Howl of the Hunter

A/N: Got into Dying Light recently, and there may not be many stories for the game even though it's very good, this popped into my head after seeing the vial option for the Following DLC. There's definitely something you can do after that. And I'm going to try and do it. Hope all readers enjoy.

* * *

"First, I'll kill you bitch," Crane growled as he turned to his side. "And I'll save my friends. And you can rot in hell." These vials were the cure. This is exactly what everyone needed to survive. He just had to make it.

Stuffing each of the vials in his pocket, Crane rose to his feet. But his vision immediately became blurry and his head started spinning like he was spun in circles. But he had to make it. He could rest later. After everyone was safe. After Camden had all the time he needed to cure everyone.

 _"Come on Crane. Go,"_ he thought furiously as he stumbled down the hall. Then he fell. Images filled his visions. Images relating to the mother. Paintings, her volatile face. He had to lean on an object for support. Everything was just so blurry...

 _"You can't change anything Kyle,"_ the mother's voice rang in his head.

"What's happening to me?" Crane asked aloud.

 _"You'll see for yourself..."_ the mother trailed as if answering his question. The thought itself only frustrated him.

"I killed you... I fucking killed you!" Crane exclaimed, struggling to get to his feet.

 _"This is a poison..."_

"It's not a poison!" Crane said, fishing a vial out of his pocket. "It's a cure!" It was a cure that everyone needed. And they were going to get it if he had anything to say about it. They needed to know just in case. They needed... to know. He got on his communicator.

"Lena? Lena, I'm coming back with the medicine," Crane said, dragging himself forward. "We'll be able to help everyone now! Tell Camden that he has all the time in the world now..."

Everything was changing; distorting. Everything was so blurry...

"No!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Tell him that we have a new lead... a better one..." More visions.

At this point he was crawling. But all he knew was that he had to keep going. Don't stop. Get there.

But everything was so blurry... So very blurry... was he even going the right way? Where was he going?

Crane almost wanted to smash his head against the walls. These visions... that damned chemical the Mother dosed him with... it still wouldn't stop him. Nothing would stop him.

 _"Finally!"_ he thought as he made it to the surface. Everything was clear now. And he was glad for it. Now to get to Lena and the others.

"Where am I?" Crane thought aloud, looking around. He had to get to Lena. He had to make sure that the vials got to her. Everything was wonderfully clear now.

On the playground in front of him, he saw a woman with her two kids. He hopped down and started to make his way towards them. Everyone had to know, right? If everyone was almost out of Antizin, everyone needed to know. But then they looked toward him...

Visions.

And screamed.

They were looking directly at him, and screaming. Crane didn't understand why. He didn't think there were any zombies behind him, were there?

"What's going on?" he questioned, putting a hand out in front of him. And that's when he saw it.

His hands... they... they weren't his hands. Images of mutated jaws reaching for his face while hands held his down filled his vision. Unpleasant memories from nighttime runs. But... this wasn't right. They looked like they were his hands. What was this? What... why was this happening?

They were still screaming. Terrified by the _monster_ that was standing in front of him. The mother stood in front of her children to protect them from this _monster._

 _"No! I'm not a monster! I'm Kyle Crane! I'm trying to help people!"_ he thought to himself furiously as he looked up. He still had his mind. He wasn't a mindless monster. And all he had to do was tell them that. If they didn't haul ass as soon as he got near them.

He tried to speak, but suddenly, in the center of his mind, something spoke. Something foreign. Something... evil.

 _"Kill them... Rip them... Tear them..."_ the voice said. What Crane wasn't expecting was the feeling, or rather, the _need_ to comply. The feeling of light against his body was gone. Daylight was gone. Night was coming.

His vision went back to the mother and her children, and a snarl unwilling came from his jaws. He ran towards them, suddenly spurred on with energy, his hands ready to rip them apart. The screams got louder.

 _"Stop it! This is not who I am!"_ Crane screamed in his mind, causing him to stop in his tracks. He tightened his fists as he struggled to fight the urge that lay in within him. He needed to get away. He needed to... figure this out. But then he looked at the family before him and uttered one word.

 _"Run!"_ The yell of the word was strained and anguished, but it was loud. And no one could mistake the word for what it was. It was a word that the three people in front of him took to heart. They bolted immediately. But soon after, there was a loud howl that rang across the night sky. The howl of the nightmares. And it was his howl.

* * *

A/N: Like it so far? I'm working on getting everything together. I don't expect this story to last too long, but who knows? I might be able to pull a decent size out of this. I see at least one person interested in this, I'll continue it.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Body Knows

The night was a hunter's element. It made the prey more vulnerable. Limited their ability to see, offered plenty of places for the Hunter to diguise themselves, etc. The night was also a volatile's element because it was the only time of day they could come out without the sun harming their skin. But he was different. There was something... stranger about him. Something that set him aside from the other zombies. Other than the fact that he had rational thought.

 _"This... I feel like I'm in my own league... It's strange... The strength... the savagery..."_ Crane thought, clenching and unclenching his hands. Or claws, rather.

He knew while night was here, he wouldn't risk whatever was wrong with him taking over and killing anyone. So he retreated back in the tunnel from where he came. His goal was to go back to Lena and the others. Give Dr. Camden these vials and hopefully speed a cure along. It would be nice to not have to worry about Antizin anymore. That damnable drug. But everyone needed it to live.

Then there was another shift. Rather than a need to walk, he felt the need to... crawl. Just how exactly would crawling help him move faster? The other volatiles weren't like that. They moved on two legs when they were chasing him. A few times, he dared to look back. Nearly got his back torn to bacon strips for daring to one time. Not the point. Then he went over details in his mind.

 _"Similar to how an infant learns to crawl. Then walk. Then do everything themselves at that point. You naturally learn,"_ Crane thought as he raised his hand. _"The body simply knows."_ Wouldn't hurt to see how it worked.

Crane was still walking on his feet. Then he started to run. He wasn't as fast as he used to be. He could tell. It didn't feel right. It seemed like his legs were more limited than they were. They didn't feel right. They didn't feel as powerful. But he needed to check the last method. So he began to crawl as fast as he could.

Now this was interesting. He sped down the tunnel like a bullet; easing past tunnels in seemingly no time at all. This might have been faster than he could've run while he was human. And it felt somewhat liberating. A soft growl eased its way from his throat as he began to approach the room where he fought the Mother, but that was not important. The important thing was that he had to get out. This place was still gigantic as hell. Where was the exit?

Moving on his hands and legs was very fast. Faster than his running when he was still human. At least that's what it felt like. Which means no Runner would be able to outrun him. Especially considering he was the faster Runner in the Tower. Vulcan, as much as he proclaimed to be the fastest, was the only one who could remotely compare to him. Not even grapple hooks would be able help them. Because he also noticed that he could still climb professionally as well as jump higher. His prowess as whatever... _this_ was enhanced his natural abilities in many ways. But he knew it wasn't common. Volatiles could jump, but they couldn't jump like this. They were also fast, but not faster than him.

Crane was also suddenly aware of the light that was strapped to his shoulder. Stopping for a moment, he took the object off his shoulder and regarded it. Volatiles were also sensitive to UV Light. It didn't kill them, but it sure as hell hurt them. He wondered if the same applied to him. Crane could live through pain if he it did.

He cut the light on while shining the light on his hand. It took a few seconds. Felt like longer, but then feeling started to register. His skin felt like it was beginning to boil. Stream started to rise from his hand and the painful burning sensation followed. Letting out a screech of pain, he threw the flashlight against the wall hard enough to break it. Quickly, the pain faded. But he was now aware that UV Light was dangerous to him. So much for going into any safe houses. But he had to learn. It was all a learning experience. A new body means new rules. Especially considering he was a mutated sentient volatile.

But zombies were dangerous because of their lack of humanity. Yet Crane was able to keep some semblance of his. He now recgonized his homicidal urges as the more savage part of this transformation. After all, a zombie's number one goal was to feed. No matter how and when. A need to feed. Fighting such an urge was relatively impossible, but then again, people believed that Rais was untouchable, but Crane cut off his hand put a blade in his throat. So impossible was definitely not the word. Impobable, maybe.

 _"Finally,"_ Crane thought as he opened the door. He found the way out and was greeted by the cool night air. It felt liberating to get outside.

Climbing back down the crane he used to get to the top of the dam, he began running through the power plant and back to the more open area of this place. There was only the matter of finding the way of which he came. Came into this area, he meant. He had done his dues by Jasir and the others. When Camden finished with the cure, which was likely going to speed up substantially thanks to these vials, they could distribute it and cure everyone over here.

 _"And hopefully..."_ Crane trailed in his mind as he raised a hand after halting in his tracks. _"...cure this."_

There was no time to stop. The faster this transformation was reverted, the better. Damn the Mother for doing this to him. This could've been far easier if she hadn't dosed him with that crap. But who said Kyle Crane ever deserved easier?

His hearing, seemingly even more sensitive than any human's, perked up at the sound of shuffling coming in his direction. A group of zombies were shambling his way, and a growl escaped him. He cocked his hand back for a punch, but his hand's grip fell loose and instead turned his intended punch into a slash. But the slash cut through the zombie like scissors through paper. Looking at his hand then back up at the horde coming his way, he slashed through each of them swiftly. Now they were in chunks under his feet.

 _"So clawing over punching. Got it,"_ Crane thought as he ran forward for a jump. He flailed his hands as he descended, enjoying and getting a feel for his body's new abilities. But halfway down, a type of tentacle escaped his hand and pulled him towards the ground. Crane stumbled forward before recovering on his hands and feet, eyes wider from the shock.

 _"The fuck was that?"_ Crane thought as he lashed a hand out. As if he were launching a blast from his hand. A tentacle, no, a tendril came out of his hands, which had also changed its form. Rather than a clawed hand, it looked his hand deformed into a rotten, fleshy claw like you saw in cheap vendors to win teddy bears in. Well, with one less hook.

 _"I wonder..."_ Crane thought as he turned and looked at another zombie. He lashed his hands out, and, as if the tendrils had a mind of their own, completely surrounded the zombie as he launched towards him. And when he pulled his hands away, they retracted almost instantly and his hands were claws again. Without hesitating, he slashed his claws through the zombie's head, its brain splattering on the concrete like pulp.

A proud howl escaped Crane's mouth. If he could like he wanted to, it would've been an exclamation of 'Hell yeah!", but this would have to do. Amazing. Out of all of this, the hardest thing for him to do was to talk.

 _"Enough fun. Let's get moving. At least I have ways to defend myself,"_ Crane thought as he threw a tentacle towards a direction. Quickly snapping his hands back launched him in the air high then he shot his hand out again, and the same thing happened. _"Back and forth. Almost like swimming."_

Pull hands back, thrust them forward. Pull hands, thrust forward. Pull, thrust. Pull, thrust. It was very much like swimming, only he was not traversing water, but rather, traversing the landscape faster than anyone possible could on foot. Well, traveling without the aid other than the body was more accurate. But damn the technicalities. He could travel fast using hentai tentacles growing out of his hands. That was all he needed to know.

Scaling the mountain was child's play. The tendrils made it effortless the way he sailed up every time he latched onto a surface. It made traveling effortless, quick, and graceful even. Crane would've called you insane if you said he would use the word graceful to describe the way any zombie moved. Then again, it was him and he could climb like a pro. Zombie or no zombie.

 _"The problem is getting the Tower and convincing everyone to not try and kill me upon sight. That's going to be the difficult part,"_ Crane thought as he traveled through the tunnels to get back to the Slums.

* * *

A/N: Not incredibly long, but I need to figure out how I want the plot to advance. I'm wondering what to do next. For Crane to try to immediately try to go to the Tower and explain the situation as well as he can as the Night Hunter or something else? It's gonna take some thinking.


	3. Chapter 3 - A Handoff

A/N: My punk ass has no excuse why this took so long to come out other than me being lazy. lol. I still haven't quite figured out how the progression is going to work, so it's going to take some thought. I don't want this story to run over TOO long, but I don't want it to skid to a sudden halt either.

* * *

"Any word from Crane?" Brecken asked, walking into Lena's office. His eyes gave this part of the med bay a once over, and almost every singe bed was filled. Most of them were infected people sitting at the fever stage. It would take a few days for them to turn, but those would be a tortorous few days.

They had no Antizin to help these people. Hell, they had no Antizin to cover themselves. And he and Spike had to take over the night runs since Crane wasn't available. He certainly was the best runner at the Tower for a reason. He could handle night runs like Brecken couldn't. He didn't need a team. He could do it all himself.

"No. Even with the radio towers active, over there, I can barely even talk to him. For the past few days, there's been nothing but static," Lena said, her tone betraying some of her worry. "I'm afraid something may have got to him."

"I would certainly hope not. Crane didn't go through the trouble of killing Rais only to die by some random cult. Because no zombie could've ever killed Crane. You said Crane mentioned something about this 'Mother?'" Brecken asked.

"Yes. From what I heard, she runs some group called the Faceless. Crane couldn't tell me much more than that given the frequency," Lena said. "You think they may have done something to him?"

"Like I said, no zombie couldn't have gotten to Crane. He's dealt with every species of infected this godforsaken world has had to offer. Either they got him, or he's taking a really long time," Brecken said.

"Neither is an option we can afford. These people are dying Brecken," Lena said.

"Yeah. And I don't know how Crane is surviving out there. We only gave him a few days worth of Antizin. It was all we could spare at the time," Brecken said, putting a hand on his forehead with his eyes closed. These past few days have not been stress free.

"Him finding something out there was the only hope we had of finding a cure. If he doesn't come back in time... we're going to have to dig a lot of graves," Lena said solemnly.

"Has Dr. Camden found anything?" Brecken asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Not yet. He says the samples he has hold promise, but it is taking forever to find anything that could possibly help with resistance or flat out immunity to the virus," Lena said.

"We don't have forever. We need a miracle, otherwise these people are going to die," Brecken said, turning as he heard movement behind him.

"Brecken, one of the scouts saw something come out of the tunnels towards the east," one of the Tower soldiers said.

"That's the entrance where Crane was. You sure it was him?" Brecken asked.

"Unless Crane can somehow sail in the air like Superman, then no. Whatever or whoever it was, it's here now," the soldier said.

"Tell all Runners to keep their eyes open. Whatever Crane may have found, it could lead to trouble," Brecken said, making the soldier nod and walk away. Lena looked towards the windows with a thoughtful look on her face.

 _"Where are you Crane?"_ she thought.

* * *

 _"Another beautiful morning in the Slums,"_ Crane thought dryly, standing up straight on top of a building. UV Light may have hurt like hell, but sunlight apparently, did not come with that deal. Good. It would make traveling far easier. He didn't have to dive for cover in a volatile hive or something. Then again, there probably wouldn't be many left given his work with Kurt as well as the plastic explosives he planted in one of the biggest hives here. Though, those had nothing on the ones he found in Faceless territory.

Crane flexed his fingers before jumping in the air and latching onto another building before flying through the air with casual effort. Moving like this was awesome in its own little way. It was like flying, only done with grappling. Crane only wished his grappling hook had THIS kind of capability. Then again, he'd probably break his legs if he fucked up.

"What the fuck?!" a voice yelled as Crane landed on a roof. He turned with a soft grunt of acknowledgement, and saw that it was a lone survivor by himself. There was that urge again. A soft growl left Crane's lips and he was fighting tooth and nail not to give into the urge to kill him.

"Are you with the Tower?" Crane asked in a low growl of a voice, making the survivor's eyes widen.

"Are you... talking to me?" the survivor asked before he jumped at the sound of a zombie coming his way. Crane used his Tendrils to pounce the zombie and use his jaws to tear it apart. He leaped into the air with a roar to the sky before facing the survivor.

 _"More... more..."_ a voice in his head said. He faced the survivor and a soft growl left his lips. His pupils dilated in fear before he raised the bat in his hand to arm himself for a swing.

"I'm not going to..." Crane snarled as he looked at him. If anything, tearing apart that zombie just made him want to kill this survivor more. But base urges could be controlled. It just took a lot of self control.

"Tower. Yes or no," Crane said. The survivor was too scared to answer. A talking mutated zombie that could rip a person apart with just a yank of his jaws would probably kill him if he thought he was part of Brecken's team of survivors.

"N-no," he stammered. Then, the zombie reached into his pockets and pulled out a vial.

"Take this to them anyway. Give it to Camden," Crane told him, forcing the vial in his hand. "It is important that they get it." His voice sounded like a gurgled mess of his own voice, but his words were distinguishable. And that was all that mattered.

"Who... what are you?" the survivor asked.

"Get to the Tower," Crane said with a point in the direction. "Protect those vials with your life. It could very well mean an end to all of this madness."

 _"Kill... kill..."_ Crane's mind screamed, but he only jumped in the air and grappled away. Trying to restrain the side of him was painful. It was hard to hold back a base urge, but this seemed like that feeling times ten. It was almost a need to kill and destroy.

"There must be... something... something to rip... tear..." Crane growled aloud. His hearing was peaked by the shouts of survivors. He immediately grappled over to the area, and he saw two survivors fending off a group of zombies. He knew he should leave now. Before he made a mistake. But he only let out a loud, terrifying howl that caused the survivors to stiffen before turning around. The looks of fear he got were satisfying in a horrible way.

"What the hell is that thing?!" one of the survivors said while trying to keep a zombie off him by struggling with it.

"I don't know, but..." The survivor was cut off by the feeling of tendrils wrapping around his entire person. Seconds later, he was forced to the ground by a powerful body slamming into him. Crane let a snarl while looking in the survivor's face. Crane let his tendrils retreat back into him as the survivor let out a scream. A snap of the jaws later, and the screams stopped. There wasn't much of him left.

The other survivor managed to get the other zombie off him, but froze up when he saw that the unknown, yet powerful zombie was looking dead at him, blood dripping from its decayed chin and powerful teeth. He didn't even notice that his entire body was shaking with fear.

"Feed," Crane said mindlessly before clenching his claw-like fingers. The urge to not kill this man was strong, but his urge to kill was fighting tooth and nail to win. Eventually, the urges won out, and survivor lay in pieces like his ally. Then Crane sunk his claws into his head.

 _"Goddammit! These stupid urges... Focused on nothing but death and feeding. I just killed two survivors because of it!"_ Crane thought before letting out a frustrated howl. His claws then shredded the zombie that was next to him to pieces with a single swipe. Followed by the next zombie. And the next zombie. Murdering zombies didn't quell this damnable bloodlust within him, but it would at least solve something.

* * *

When James went out for food, zombies he was expecting. Every time he went out, he expected to one day get overrun and then torn apart. What he wasn't expecting, however, was a talking mutated zombie telling him to give a vial of liquid to the Tower. And from a desire to keep his body firmly intact, he was going to do what he said.

"Hey!" one of the soldiers up to shouted, pointing his gun at James. "I've never seen you around here."

"And I'm here because I got something to show you," James said.

"What is it?" the first soldier asked.

"Something that... something asked me to show you," James told him. The first soldier raised an eyebrow at the man before raising his gun up to where it was pointing upward and touching his shoulder. He gave his partner a glance, and he only shrugged.

"Alright. Climb up. Do anything, and we drop you. No hesitation," he said. James nodded before feeling his pocket to make sure the vials were there. With a grunt of effort, he made the leap up to the place and he noticed that everyone was staring at him.

"What do you got?" the other soldier asked, making James fish the vial out of his pocket and show it to them. "What is that supposed to be?"

"I have no idea. I was just told by something to bring it over here," James said.

"You keep saying 'something.' Not someone. Was it like a gut feeling?" the first soldier asked.

"No, it's... this is going to sound really bizarre, but this strange zombie told me," James said, making both of the soldiers raise their eyebrows in disbelief.

"A zombie told you?" the first soldier said, his tone matching his expression.

"It sounds insane, I know. But it was a zombie like I had never seen. It had boils coming out of the top of its head, bones coming out of his back. His fingers were more like claws, but he could change them into these type of tentacles. If it helps, he looked at me like I was dinner at first. It was more terrifying than the Volatiles to be honest," James explained. He had one run in with Volatiles when he got caught outside too long. He didn't wish to repeat the experience.

"But then he seemed to ignore the urge to kill me and told me to deliver this vial to the Tower," he continued. "I don't want to disobey a thing like that, so that's what I'm doing."

"That's hard to believe. Most zombies can't talk or resist the urge to kill anyone. You sure you didn't smoke something?" the first zombie asked.

"Not while I'm out scavenging for food! I don't have a deathwish!" James exclaimed, sounding indignant. "He just told me to give these vials to someone named Camden. Do any of you know who that is?"

Here both soldiers were shocked. No one really knew of Camden except those select few in the Tower and Rais' men. No one else.

"How do you know that name?" the second soldier asked.

"I told you. That thing told me. Look, whatever person that guy was, he seemed to be doing something important given how he still had these. He obviously had ties to you. Any idea who that person may have been?" James asked, making the soldiers' eyes widen at the same time in shock and disbelief.

"There's no way..."

"Bastard's tougher than any of us..."

"There's... there's got to be..." the first soldier trailed before piercing James with hard eyes. "Come with us."

James followed the soldier without a word. They seemed to have an idea as to who the person was, and judging by things, he was no ordinary person even when he was alive. It stands to reason he would become no ordinary zombie either.

"Brecken, I got something you might wanna hear," the first soldier said as he walked in with James in tow.

"What is it?" Brecken said, sounding exhausted.

"We may have an idea as to where Crane may have ended up, but you're not gonna like it," the first soldier said, catching both Brecken's and Lena's attention at once. If any exhaustion was there, it was gone instantly.

"What happened to him?" Brecken asked before looking at James, anger quickly flooding to the surface. "Did you do something to him?!"

"No, of course not!" James asked, quickly pedaling back and raising his hands in surrender.

"Crane's infected now," the first soldier said, making Brecken stop in his tracks.

"No..." Lena trailed, a distraught expression taking over her face. Brecken looked to be in disbelief. And frustrated.

"How? Or do you even know?" he asked.

"No, I don't know. But this guy right here seemed to run into Crane's mutated form when he was out looking for food," the first soldier said.

"Mutated? So what is he? A Goon? Whatever he is, we ought to put him out of his misery. I mean, after everything's he's done to try and help us..." Brecken trailed, but the soldier shook his head.

"Not even that. Something far more advanced. And more when it comes to what he can do," the first soldier said.

"What do you mean?" Brecken asked. Curiosity beat out Lena's grief and she too, stopped to listen.

"This guy ran into Crane's form, and he actually _talked_ to him. As in, he was able to speak," the first soldier said, making both of their eyes widen.

"That's impossible. There's no way..."

"That's possible?" the first soldier finished. "Yeah, I thought so too. Until he started explaining. He handed this guy this vial and said it needed to be given to Camden. It seems whatever he found may have been the cure to this madness, but it cost him his humanity."

"Only not all of it," Camden said, looking at the vials. "Gather every Runner we can spare along with me. I'll take these goddamn vials myself if needed. If what Camden finds actually is what we need to end this nightmare, then we go looking for Crane."

"I'd be careful if I were you. He said that Crane looked like he was fighting tooth and nail not to kill him in order to give him the vial in the first place," the first soldier said.

"So the hunger is there. It just does not dictate all of his actions," Lena said.

"Did the sunlight seem to bother him at all?" Brecken asked.

"Not in the slightest," James said, speaking up for the first time. "It was almost as if he was human."

"We need some insurance when we go looking for him to make sure he doesn't accidentally kill us. Volatiles hate UV light. Maybe he'll work the same way," Brecken said.

"Couldn't hurt to try it. First things first," the first soldiers said, pointing to the vial.

"You," Brecken said, pointing to James. "You know what he looks like and what he can do. Stay here while we go to Old Town to deliver these vials." Brecken then started to gear up while already knowing who he was going to take with him on this trip. He'd be damned if he'd leave Crane to rot as a zombie for eternity. He became that way because he needed to go find a cure for all of them. And this might be it. He just hoped to God it was.


End file.
